


Small, Stark, and Spirited

by Potato_Face_Joe



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potato_Face_Joe/pseuds/Potato_Face_Joe
Summary: A preteen girl comes to the Tower, claiming to be the child of Tony Stark.
Kudos: 2





	1. An Unexpected Discovery

Tony Stark had been working in the lab for hours without any sort of distraction, be it someone wanting his attention or his own body requiring ridiculous things such as food and water. Of course, this couldn't last forever, though he still almost jumped out of his seat when he heard his AI, Jarvis, speak. "Mr. Stark, your presence is requested in the lobby."

The middle-aged genius groaned a little at the reminder that he was still on earth and had responsibilities. "Well, that's a first," Tony mumbled sarcastically. "They usually want me in the bedroom. Who is it?" 

Jarvis answered helpfully. "She says her name is Amelia, sir. She seems very insistent on speaking with you."

Tony figured it was just some amateur reporter trying desperately to get a story, so he wasn't all that excited to go down to the lobby, but he still went into the elevator, his considerate AI already knowing where to take him.

When Tony arrived at the bottom floor, however, he was met with an unexpected sight. A young girl, maybe ten or eleven, was standing there with a backpack slung across one shoulder and a few papers in her hand.

********************

"Hi, Mr. Stark!" Amelia shouted, bouncing on her feet like an overly-caffinated puppy. "I'm Amelia, or Amy, or whatever you wanna call me, I don't care. By the way, I'm about 98% sure you're my dad!"

Okay, hold up..Tony didn't remember having a kid, especially one as jumpy and excitable as that. He gave a blank look. "Why do you think that, exactly?"

Amelia held up her papers. "I had my blood tested, duh! I can give you the number for the office if you don't believe me, but I haven't lied to you yet, so I don't know why you wouldn't. Anyways, you look like shit, what have you been doing?"

Tony found himself at a loss for words. Some kid came in, claimed to be his daughter, then insulted him. Yep, pretty normal Tuesday. Finally, the scientist managed, "Working. You know what? Let's go upstairs and... Talk about this."

Amelia paused, somewhat expecting to have been sent away by now, but then grinned again and went on acting like a 4-year-old on Christmas morning. "Awesome! I love talking! By the way, do you have coffee?"

The kid came to his tower, claimed to be his daughter, said he looked like shit, then requested a beverage that would only make her even more hyper.... Tony was beginning to believe that this girl was, in fact, his daughter. With a small scoff, he answered, "Yeah, I do, but you're not getting any. Elevator's over there." He started walking, expecting the girl to follow him, which she did, skipping happily at his side.

"Figured as much," Amelia chirped, her bright smile never wavering. "That's alright, I don't even like coffee, I was asking for you. You look like you just pulled 18 all-nighters in a row."

Tony rolled his eyes as they stepped into the elevator, then looked down at the girl to see if there was any resemblance whatsoever between her and himself.

Amelia had dark hair, but not quite black, which was cut jaggedly at chin length but still slightly curly at the tips. Her eyes were chocolate brown, though they almost seemed to be shining with excitement. She was thin, but not skinny enough that it was worrisome, and had yet to develops any features that would be recognized as feminine.

She wasn't particularly short for her supposed age, but she was still much shorter than Tony, her head reaching about 2 inches below his shoulder. Her skin was a light shade of brown, but he couldn't tell if it was natural or if she'd gotten some sort of tan. 

All in all, Tony wouldn't be surprised if Amelia was correct, that she was his daughter. They certainly had similar eyes, and their hair colors were near identical, along with the basic outline of their faces. 

"....Mr. Stark?"

Tony was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the voice of the young girl, who was looking up at him with an amused smile on her face. "What?"

"We're here," Amelia repeated, gesturing to the open elevator doors. "You must be really tired. Do you want to go take a nap or something? I can come back later." She seemed genuinely concerned, which made Tony think he probably did look like shit, as Amelia had told him.

The billionaire shook his head, stepping out into a living space with huge couches, an enormous TV, and walls made of missile-proof glass. Apparently, Amelia wasn't expecting all that, because as soon as she was inside, she immediately started running around, looking at everything. She was being oddly quiet from what Tony had seen, and when he was about to ask about it, he heard her voice again. 

"You have a _fridge_ in your _living room?_!" Amelia seemed very excited by that fact, until she realized that she didn't live there. And then she thought of another thing. "Hey, Mr. Stark, have you eaten yet today?"

Tony walked over to the girl with a soft sigh. "1. Call me Tony, 2. Nope. Lemme at that fridge." His answer made the kid laugh, which was a surprisingly pleasant sound. It was childish, but not too high-pitched, and sounded bubbly.

********************

After about an hour of snacking and talking, the latter having mostly been Amelia, as she never seemed to close her mouth, even when chewing, Tony was near certain that this girl was his. He'd looked over the papers, which were the results of her blood test and an explanation of how they figured it out (Amelia having asked about 20 times before they decided to type it for her). 

Amelia had told him everything: How her mom had died in the Chitauri attack two months prior, how her uncle Eric didn't want her and said that he was going to put her in the system, how she had begged to be allowed to find her father and see if he would be her legal guardian... And a lot of random stuff like how she liked cheddar cheese with ham sandwiches, but preferred gouda with turkey. It was a very interesting conversation.

".....So, can I stay, please, Mr. Sta- Tony?"

Tony took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He didn't want to just send her away, but he didn't know how the heck he was supposed to raise a kid. There was also the fact that Pepper wouldn't be happy.. But she was so innocent, he couldn't crush a little girl's soul- UGH, this was so hard. Finally, he answered, "One week. You can stay here for a week. If it works out, I'll let you stay longer, but if it doesn't, have fun in the syst-" 

He was cut off by a sudden impact to the solar plexus, which he quickly figured out was a head. A pair of skinny-yet-muscular arms were wrapped around him, just above the waist. Oh. The kid was hugging him. Okay then. Tony gave Amelia an awkward pat on the head, which the girl thankfully realized meant that she needed to get the fuck off.

"Thank you so much Mr.- Tony! I promise, I'll do my best- thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hey, can you speak up?" Tony asked sarcastically. "I didn't hear you thank me the first 57 times."

Amelia quieted a little. "Heh, sorry, got excited. I'm ADHD, by the way. It's a problem sometimes."

Tony shook his head. "Eh, no worries, kid. I've dealt with worse." He found that while she was quick to get excited, she was also quick to apologize when she realized it was too much. That was a good thing, he supposed.

And so began Tony's journey as the father of an energetic little girl. As hard as he thought it would be, trust me. It was way harder.


	2. Sarcasm and Stubbornness: A Stark Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia's first day of living with Tony, ended with a bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one will mainly be to get more of an idea of Amelia's personality. Not much will happen, but I do suggest reading til the end, as the final paragraphs are somewhat important.

Tony had gone back to work in his lab several hours ago, but this time he had a young female sitting near him, chattering away and asking questions about his work. Amelia seemed genuinely interested in the machine he was building, which was a new and improved Iron Man suit, unsurprisingly. Tony found that he enjoyed talking with his supposed daughter; she was like a sponge, soaking in all the new information, but she was also pretty funny and laid back, easy to converse with. 

God, what was happening? The kid was already making him go soft. Disgusting.

"By the way, you should really be drinking more water. Dehydration can kill people, you know," Amelia scolded, snapping Tony back into reality. He had stopped listening ten minutes ago, lost in his own head.

The billionaire scoffed, looking at Amelia. "I think I'm fine. It hasn't killed me yet."

Amelia shrugged. "It could. You're already showing signs that it's affecting your health. Dark bags under your eyes, cracked lips- and you haven't gone to the bathroom since I got here, which was over six hours ago. You're pretty much begging death to come get you."

"Yeah, whatever. I don't need you telling me how to live my life, I've got Pepper for that," Tony retorted.

The younger of the two rose an eyebrow. "Is she here right now? No, so you've got me. Honestly, old people these days-" she joked, smirking a little.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He decided to end that conversation, leaving the two in temporary silence. 

Amelia didn't like quiet. She started tapping her fingers on her legs. Then she started humming. The lack of conversation was already killing her after just a few seconds. The kid caved. "Hey, how old are you even?"

"Twenty-five," Tony answered sarcastically.

That wasn't a good answer. "Liar. That would mean you were only 14 or 15 when I was... Made. And you look way older than-"

"Kid, it was a joke. I'm 42, alright? Jeez."

Amelia accepted that answer. She tended to take things seriously too much, as Tony would soon figure out. Ah, well. Time to put that aside and make some jokes of her own. "You're nearly 4 times my age. You do realize that, right? Unless, of course, you only said 42 because it's the answer to everything- in which case, good job, you almost fooled me. Oh, shit, that was meant to be a simple joke, of course I'm rambling, sorry, I do this a lot, just ignore it. Imma shut up now."

Tony actually laughed at the kid, which she didn't seem to appreciate, but didn't comment on it. "Are you sure you don't want to say a few more sentences? We've got a few years."

The kid rolled her eyes, a slight red tinge in her cheeks, but didn't reply to the sarcasm. Instead, she simply changed the subject. "How do you eat in your Iron Man suit?"

That got an eye roll from Tony, but he still answered, "I take the mask off. Or I wait until I'm done using the suit."

"That's boring. I was hoping for a nerdy, sciencey answer. How come you don't just wear it all the time? I mean, this is New York, you get your brains blown out just walking down the street- especially if you have money. Unless you do wear it all the time, in which case, how do you hide it? Do you ever have to fight off random people that suddenly try to rob you? Oooh, do you fly instead of driving places?! Dang it, I wish I had an Iron Man suit, that'd deal with bullies and stuff way faster- goddamn it, I'm rambling again!"

After Amelia had finished her rapid array of inquiries, which Tony hadn't been able to follow in the slightest, the billionaire spoke again. "Is there a way for you to not ramble like that?"

"I'm sorry, Tony. My fucking ADHD doesn't seem to want to stop. I guess I don't talk as much when I'm eating, but I can't just eat all the time, even though I'd like to." Amelia barely managed to keep herself from letting out another endless stream of words, though it was better than if she hadn't any self control.

Tony shrugged. "I'm fine with it. You just seem to get annoyed with yourself for talking so much. You can get a snack if you think eating will help, but hands off my Doritos."

********************

Another few hours had passed, the time being filled with Tony's working and conversing with Amelia, and it was nearing midnight. For the older of the pair, it was no problem as he had gone way longer without thoughts of rest, but for the small girl next to him, who was already pausing in her speech several times to let out kitten-like yawns which Tony found strangely cute, it was clearly time for bed. However, when the genius voiced this thought, he was met with an immediate protest. 

"It's alright, Mr. Stark, I'm not even tired yet," Amelia claimed, even though her eyes were drooping and she had to physically hold her head up with her hands to keep it from falling onto the table.

Tony snorted. "That's a load of shit and we both know it. You're like what, 9? You need sleep."

Amelia looked slightly offended. "I'm going to be 11 on Friday! Besides, I don't even have a _bedroom,_ where am I supposed to sleep?" She thought she'd stumped him, but in the midst of her sleepiness, she'd forgotten that he had like a hundred guest rooms.

The middle-aged billionaire gave his daughter a look. He was perfectly content with the idea of her being his own offspring at that point, to be honest. "Hey Jarvis, lead the kid to the closest empty guest room."

"As you wish, sir-"

"Nuh-uh," Amelia argued, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "No way am I trusting your creepy robo-perv to lead me anywhere. It could malfunction and get me killed or something! Besides, how do I know this place isn't haunted or whatever?"

Tony paused for a minute, looking at the girl's face to see that she was being entirely serious about this. He tried very hard not to laugh. "You think my Tower is haunted?"

Amelia huffed. "Could be, for all I know. Aliens are real, apparently, so why not ghosts?"

That was a good point, but Tony still found the situation hilarious. "Do you need a big, strong man to lead the way for you?" he teased.

"That'd be nice," Amelia said, glaring a little. "But unfortunately, the only man around here is you. You're not that strong...or big."

Okay, that got the scientist to laugh. Her sleepy attempt at being sassy was just too much. "I'll have you know, I'm very big where it counts," he said, only to be met with an innocent look of blatant confusion. That's when he realized that the kid wasn't even in middle school yet; she didn't understand inappropriate humor. "Nevermind. Let's go, you need sleep and I need a drink, which I can't have with a minor in the room."

Amelia sighed, knowing she had lost. "Fine. But just so you know, I'm not a little kid, I can stay up way later than this." She stood up too fast and her brain juices sloshed around, causing her eyes to go blurry for a second. That was not pleasant, but she got over it quickly, grabbed her brownish-gray backpack, and followed her dad.

"Yeah, yeah, you can tell me in the morning," Tony said, rolling his eyes. He motioned the kid to follow him as he walked to the elevator, trying not to think about how ridiculous it was that she was afraid to go around the tower on her own. Though to be fair, she clearly had a bit of trauma after the Chitauri attack a couple months back, so it made sense for her to be afraid of some things that most people wouldn't give a second thought. There was also the fact that she was only a child and didn't have the common sense that came with adulthood.

Walking down the hall, Amelia seemed strangely unnerved. Being as late as it was, the lights had been automatically dimmed to the point where you cite could still see, but you wouldn't be blinded if you had just woken up. She didn't say anything more about the topic, but it was clear that she did believe there was a possibility of paranormal activity in the tower, which obviously affected her judgement of what was safe. 

"You can sleep here tonight," Tony told the girl, snapping her out of her thoughts as they arrived at the supposed destination: a large room with a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, a nightstand, and its own bathroom. 

"Woah.." the girl breathed, clearly not used to the fanciness of the place. "This is for me? Like, personally? No catch?"

"That's right," Tony answered. "Is there a problem?"

Amelia scoffed. "This is possibly the nicest room I've ever been in. Though I haven't been in many- still!"

The billionaire shrugged like it was nothing. "Get used to it. You'll be sleeping there all week, maybe longer. Need anything else, or can I leave?" He was smiling inside, though. He couldn't wait to show his spawn the rest of the building.

"You're good," replied the young girl as she gracefully slammed the door in her father's face. She immediately jumped onto the giant bed, snuggling under the covers, amazed at the softness. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

********************

The next morning, Amelia awoke to a raging headache. But it wasn't just her head; all of her muscles seemed to be attempting murder upon the child at once. She was drenched in sweat, but she felt cold. Her stomach was nearly as bad as her head.

Of course, Amelia Tyler wasn't one to let a little morning grogginess ruin her day. She decided that a nice shower would help, so she coaxed herself out of under her blankets, grabbed her backpack which held her clothes, and stood up to go to the bathroom. However, her plan was quickly foiled when, as soon as she took a step, she had to run into the facilities and make a dash for the toilet, unable to stop everything she'd eaten the day before from coming back up into the previously clean porcelain. 

What a lovely way to begin the morning.


	3. Don't Feel So Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has to learn how to deal with a sick child.

Amelia let out another painful heave, losing her dinner from the night before. Great. She wanted to call her mother for help, but the problem was, her mother wasn't there at the moment, so all she could do was ask the creepy voice in the ceiling to call her father, whom she was certain would want to end the week early and send her away. 

"J- Jarvis?" the girl rasped out, breathing shakily. 

"Your temperature is alarmingly high, as is your heart rate, Miss Amelia. Shall I inform Mr. Stark of your condition?"

Amelia let out a quiet groan as yet another wave of illness left her hunched over the toilet, sweating heavily. "Y-yeah... Tell hi-im it's a-an emer-mergen-ncy" 

"As you wish, ma'am," replied the weird pervert-bot, the voice seeming to come from everywhere at once. C'mon, that thing had access to all the cameras, Amelia was sure it got at least some pleasure from it.

It only took about 3 minutes for Tony to get down to his young charge. "Hey, kid, Jarvis said you were- oh, you're puking. Nice." He wasn't sure whether he should try to comfort her or something, seeing as he'd never had a kid before, let alone a sick one. The scientist considered holding back her hair, but it was short enough not to be in the line of fire when she chucked up the contents of her stomach.

Fortunately, Amelia seemed familiar with this type of illness, as she looked up at him between bouts of projectile vomiting and said, in a pained voice, "Ca-an you get me a-a rag? W-warm and damp wou-ould be best..." The girl was internally panicking, however, having thoroughly convinced herself that Tony would be appalled by her disheveled state.

After a moment of uncertainty, Tony moved to the sink, grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet beneath, and rinsed it in warm water before handing it to the afflicted child. He didn't know what else to do but watch as she wiped the mess of regurgitated food and gastric acid from around her mouth.

"Th-thanks, Mr. Stark," Amelia squeaked out, trying to get to her feet now that she was sure there was nothing left in her stomach to dispel. 

Tony stood there awkwardly. Should he help her walk? She couldn't just stay in the bathroom forever, but the kid didn't seem like she'd be able to make it as far as her bed without assistance. However, he didn't offer his support before an entirely different topic left his mouth. "It's Tony."

Amelia nodded, giving a silent apology. She gave up on standing, electing to sit on the floor. She wasn't going to ask for any more help, though she'd accept if it was offered.

"You need some water?" Tony asked after a moment of not knowing what to do, answered with another nod from his ward. "Uh, I'll get you some. Stay here."

Well, that ruined Amelia's plan. She'd been wanting to go run three marathons in a row. Darn you, Tony.... Amelia rolled her eyes at her own brain and shifted a little, trying to get comfortable even though there was no way that would happen with everything hurting like it was.

Tony came back about thirty seconds later with a water bottle that he'd already opened. "Here you go, kid," he said as he handed it to the girl who gave a quiet thank you before chugging. Unbeknownst to Amelia, Tony already had Jarvis call a certain friend of his whom just happened to be a doctor.

"I- I'm sorry, T-Tony," Amelia muttered, much to the older man's confusion.

Tony gave his daughter a strange look before speaking. "For what? Being sick? 'Cause that's not a big deal; if you count the times I've been sick, put together it's probably longer than you've been alive. Don't worry about it," the scientist rambled, trying to console Amelia before she started feeling like a burden, or worse, crying. That would be a nightmare.

"That's not very reassuring, Tony," Amelia claimed. "You're like a million years old." Ah, joking. That was a good sign, so Stark decided to let that slide.

********************

After a while of Tony not knowing what to do and Amelia not wanting to be too much work, the latter was finally brought to the living room couch, the former making sure she didn't fall over on the way there. It was a little bit awkward trying to help someone so small without picking her up, but Tony managed to do so without any harm being done.

Amelia had to admit: She'd been in worse situations while fighting various ailments, but it was different with Tony. She hardly knew him, and he had already agreed to try being a father, so she still felt bad that she was such a hassle.

"You think you can eat?" Tony asked after a bit of silence. He thought he already knew the answer, but still decided to ask.

The kid thought about her reply for a minute before opening her mouth to say, "Maybe, as long as it's not all flavor-y." By that, she meant covered in seasonings, but Tony didn't understand because this kid talks weird.

"Pretty sure that's not a word, kid," Tony said, rolling his eyes a little. 

Amelia curled up on the couch, thinking of how she might explain what she meant, then said, "No spicy stuff, I'm not sure I can stomach it."

After a second of thought, Tony just grabbed a bag of bread. Hey, he didn't know how much the kid could eat, and it's not like he couldn't afford to replace a loaf. Then he got a water bottle because he knew from a lot of drunken experience that vomiting caused dehydration, and because he knew that water was important to help with recovery because science.

"I hope plain wheat bread isn't too spicy for you, kid," said the middle-aged man with heart problems.

Amelia smiled, but it was more of a grimace. "I think it'll be fine. You're probably busy, so I'll take care of myself from here- thanks for everything." She took a piece of bread and devoured it, then started trying to go slower when she realized stuffing herself might cause projectile vomit. That'd suck.

Tony shrugged, thinking about how much the whole polite thank you thing didn't suit the girl in front of him. "Not too busy," he said, plopping down next to Amelia, much to the kid's surprise. "I'm pretty much stuck here while everyone else is on some dumb mission." Okay, so maybe he was bending the truth a little. Maybe he'd elected to stay back for some much-needed Tony time, but he wasn't going to tell the kid that.

"Oh. Well, in that case, wanna watch some movies? My Star Wars Marathon was sorta interrupted by a bunch of creepy cockroach alien dudes, and I haven't had time to watch it after that because I kept being pulled into courts and stuff to assign my new legal guardian, and now I'm really missing Han Solo. It's almost a sin not to watch Star Wars on May 4th, which, as you probably know, is when the aliens came, even though it was Star Wars day. Those creeps have no respect for tradition- well shit, I'm rambling again." Amelia finally finished her speech with a small sigh, her cheeks tinged red. "Sorry."

Tony rose an eyebrow. "That is the longest time I've ever heard someone talk without taking a breath. I probably just witnessed a world record. Don't be sorry."

"Oh, okay, sor- shit, sorry- oh god help me," Amelia mumbled. Apologising for apologising. Smooth. "Anyways, about that Star Wars Marathon..."

********************

Tony and Amelia had been watching the original trilogy, the younger claiming that the others weren't worth bothering with. Somewhere in the middle of _Return of the Jedi_ , the mechanic felt a lump of mass pressing into his side. The kid fell asleep on him. 

Instead of moving the kid like he felt he should, Tony decided that it would be better to let his daughter have some much-needed rest. Throwing up was exhausting, after all; he knew from experience. Of course, his was mostly alcohol-related, but same difference, right? Anyhow, he continued to watch the movie even though he'd seen it before, allowing Amelia to keep softly snoring with her head in his ribcage. 

That all ended, however, when Jarvis announced, quietly because he was intelligent enough not to wake the sleeping child, "Director Fury is here to see you, sir. He says it cannot wait."

Tony internal groaned. Couldn't he have a minute of peace? Was that too much to ask for? "Tell him I don't care, I'm busy." He was answered after a moment of silence.

"Sir, he is insisting to speak with you immediately. I suggest listening in case it's an emergency."

A soft sigh escaped the philanthropist's lips. He really didn't feel like dealing with Fury right now, but if he didn't listen, the man would likely just come in and wake Amelia up, and that was the last thing Stark wanted. He couldn't understand why he felt so attached to the child already, but chalked it up to his internal loneliness, before gently moving her away enough that he could get up, being careful not to wake her.

"What do you want, Eyepatch?" Tony asked as he went to the other room to meet the SHIELD director who was coming out of the elevator. He wasn't happy about it. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm busy."

Fury looked less than delighted to be there as well, which made Tony slightly apprehensive about what he was about to say....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out, I had a lot going on. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
